


An Arkonath Myth of Creation

by Susamo



Category: Perry Rhodan - Various Authors
Genre: Alternate Reality, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:22:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28631697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Susamo/pseuds/Susamo
Summary: Atlan da Gonozal, aged five, asks his nanny to tell him a tale. He wants to hear the one about how everything began and how the gods came and about the Sword and the Spirits...This is the Creation myth of the Arkonides, told to a child.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	An Arkonath Myth of Creation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sploot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sploot/gifts).



> Dear Sploot,  
> I wish to thank you for following my stories so closely and for your interest in our young Crystal Prince!  
> This story here came to me suddenly while I was cutting onions for soup (Does that fact have some cosmological significance, perhaps? 😉). I hope you enjoy the story, while I am working busily on part eleven of my series!
> 
> Originally in the Perryverse, Atlan da Gonozal is the son of Imperator Gonozal the Seventh and has two uncles, the genius composer Upoc and the evil conspirator Orbanaschol, who manages to have his brother murdered and takes the throne. A loyal retainer escapes with the heir to the throne, Atlan at age four, and brings him up on a colonial world. When he is eighteen, he gains the Ark Summia and with it his logic sector, fights the murderous uncle and in the end overcomes him. Uncle Upoc becomes the Imperator, and Atlan goes on to complete his education, joins the fleet, and becomes a famous admiral.  
> I wanted him to grow up at Court, and have begun to write several stories about his youth and the adventures he has then, as the acknowledged Gos athor and his father alive as the third one of the brothers, Crest. The eldest of the brothers is Cunor, in this case, and the Imperator. (For a long time in the Perry Rhodan series, Atlan was the nephew of Gonozal the Seventh, anyway, a fact which only was changed by the authors when they began to write the Atlan series. A peaceful life at Court, presided over by loving parents and a powerful and well-meaning uncle as the Imperator was too dull for a series full of adventure). So here is Atlan at age five, still at Court and brought up with the help of his loving nanny Lesena.
> 
> Note that all Arkonides have red eyes and white hair.
> 
> For several decades, only four of the Arkonath She'huan, the Gods of the Stars, were known by name. Only very recently, after the death of Rainer Castor (deeply is he mourned, also by me), his system of the She'huan has been added to the Perrypedia. By then, my own system and invention of Arkonath religion and cosmology had long been formed and been written down, so I dare to present it here like this nevertheless. Admittedly, I have begun to integrate Rainer Castor's ideas into my own system, (since they have become official canon), giving some names of the Gods he invented as by-names to my version of the Gods of the Arkonides, or inventing Spirits who bear these names. Among other things, I am a linguist, and for me, those names must have meaning and be rooted in the language of the Arkonides, so I have a lot of "research" to do in that regard and am not fully done yet. (One of my fan projects is the development of a fully viable version of the Arkonath language at the time of the Methane Wars, with vocabulary heavily taken and adapted from Sanskrit, and the grammar strongly influenced by Latin and ancient Greek). The concepts of religion, philosophy, and cosmology of the Arkonides as I write of them here mostly are my own invention and do not exist like this (yet?) in the Perryverse, but they are based on Arkonath cultural and sociological concepts already canon, and should not be contradicted by what already is known about the Arkonides of ten thousand years ago, at the time of the Great War.

An Arkonath Myth of Creation

“Lesena? Please! Tell me a story, Lesena. Please!”

Atlan tec’ Gonozal, aged five, was scrambling up the settee to sit near to his nanny and to snuggle up to her. She smiled and held her arms out to him, and he clambered up to sit on her lap, hopefully looking at her. His eyes had gone light red with anticipation.

“Atlan thay, you know that it is bed-time. You should go to sleep now.”

The boy grimaced and snuggled closer to his nanny’s breast. “Aw, Lesena. Meth and math will be away for such a long time still! And I’m not tired, not at all. I promise I will be tired after you tell me a story, and I will be very good and go to bed and be asleep very swiftly, and when math comes to give me a kiss when I am asleep as she said, I will be asleep truly and she will not know!”

Lesena acted as if she would be strict and held up her finger. “We must do as your parents said, mustn’t we? Your father and your mother will be away at the ball at Court for a long time still, that is true. But they can ask Kelta or any robot serving them whether you were good and went to bed at the time you should. And then they will know that you did not obey your mother.”

The little rascal smiled up at her, knowing fully well that Kelta, his personal bodyguard, would not tell on him and that his parents would not check with the robots if Lesena said that all was well. And he had been good the whole day long and done his lessons punctiliously. 

“Please, Lesena. Please please please!”

The boy knew his nanny too well. She simply liked to tell stories to him, and it was true too that he was quite active and excited still and would not fall asleep easily if he had to go to bed now.

“Well, then. But only a shorter one. Which story shall I tell?”

Atlan smiled triumphantly and happily, and excitedly said: “The one about how everything began and how the gods came and about the Sword and all about Arbaraith and the Heroes!”

Lesena ma Thyrenn inclined her head and smiled back at the young prince. She could have bet on it that he would ask for that story. Berlen Taigonii, and the celebration of the Twelve Heroes, was only half a berlon away.

“Gath uranase, far, far away in the past, before there were space or time, there was Thiath. You know who Thiath is, Atlan, don’t you?”

Gravely he turned his wrist in agreement. “ Thiath is the One Above Them All, The Highest Power.”

“That is true.” Lesena confirmed it with a turn of her own wrist. “Then, before there was time, Thiath existed. It was neither male nor female or had a beginning or an end. Thiath was-and still is-infinite, and eternal. Thiath is Light Itself, and Love incarnate. But there is this about love: Thiath wanted to love, but there was no-one but itself to love. And Thiath wanted to know itself, and for that, it wished to look at itself not only from inside but also from outside-but to experience that, Thiath would have needed to get outside of infinity, and that isn’t possible, is it?”

“No.” the boy threw back his head in denial, his eyes sparkling golden-red with excitement. He liked this story and had heard it many times before. But children always wanted to hear their favourite tales again and again and acted as if they heard them for the first time.

“So from want came need, deliberation, and decision. Thiath decided to change matters, so It would no longer be alone, and so that there would be others.  
To allow for distance, Thiath invented space, so there was a place where one was and another place where another one was and took a part of Itself and flung it out like a cup of golden liquid that spilled upon the ground, and the Gods came into existence. From that moment on, they always had been, because there was no time yet, and everything happened within one eternal moment.”

The young Crystal Prince snapped his fingers in swift accordance, and looked at his nanny expectantly, wanting her to go on. Smiling, Lesena did so.

“The Gods were part of Thiath for they came of Thiath. They are emanations of The Highest and represent aspects of It. But with them, for the first time, there was distance and difference, and exclusion. What one God or Goddess was, another one was not, and that one was something and knew something another one did not, though they all had come from the same infinity and the same oneness. They were one still as they were all Thiath’s children and She’huan, and were one with Thiath in their essence and their basic intention. But they differed in being men and women and having different names and different duties and assignments, and different goals.

And they could look at each other and behold the other ones in joy and celebrate and enjoy those differences, and so they looked at Thiath and bowed deeply in reverence and love and joy. Thiath Itself was very glad and full of joy Itself because now It could love others and see Itself through their eyes and know Itself from outside; for the first time Thiath experienced how it was to love another, and how it was to be loved back by another. It was the fulfillment of Love, of Thiath Itself, and Thiath together with the Gods rejoiced. And as they did so, it had been so forever, because there was no time yet in that eternal Now. 

But the essence of Thiath It had spilled had gone out farther, and some drops of that essence had fallen beyond the sphere of the Gods, which became the Star Spirits of the Rant’harae, beings that belonged with the She’huan and who served them. There is for example Mahal, the Spirit of Dream and Sleep, who serves Skorgytha, The Veiled One, the Goddess of Mystery and Going Inward, and Zhymelesa, who is the Protector, Saviour, and Guide for those who walk under the Shadow or in Dark Places. Another Spirit is Khazandalud, the spirit of constancy and patience. He serves Zhymelesa, and Katsahinor, the God of War, and Rantmethron, whom we ask for his aid for natural science and who protects us in strange and dangerous places.”

“And there is Sharakkhal, the Spirit of change and death”, Atlan added in a subdued voice, suddenly sad. Lesena inclined her head. The young prince had had a pet he had loved much, a sweetly chattering Dhiccer, a squirrel-like animal with a voluminous bushy tail and a gleaming pelt.

“Cheep-chee could not grow older than his three years”, she gently explained. “Everything which has a beginning also must have an end, you know that. Sharakkhal’s name means “the dark one for whom one must be prepared”, and he will come to everything and everyone because harmony and balance must be kept concerning space as well as time.”

“Yes”, the boy sighed, but then his mien brightened, and almost triumphantly he said:” But the Blessed Star Spirits are not all that came into existence then!”

“No.” Lesena flipped up her hand in denial. “Some drops of Thiath’s essence even flew wider, very far away from the sphere of light, where there was darkness. There others came to life, the yagsholi zaraki, the Dark Star Spirits. They exist within the Rant’rasé, the World down below. The first of them is Zirakinza, the Lightless one. He makes people feel desperate and utterly sad. We call him the Agh’zarak, the Prince of Darkness. He is the father of all the yagsholi zaraki.”

The young Gos athor’s eyes were huge, but he did not feel afraid here upon his nanny’s lap and in her arms. He had heard this story before, of course, and could not be frightened now. And then, the Dark Star Spirits had their place in the universe as rightly as had the Blessed Star Spirits.

“Their mother is Mahayuun, the Evil Heart. We call her the Old Hag else, and the Churraila, the Princess of Shivers.”

“Brrrr!” Atlan shook himself and added:” She makes people shiver with fright and panic, doesn’t she?”

“Yes.” Lesena shook herself demonstratively and smiled. “Of course, people are naturally sad or afraid. Those feelings do not really come from a dark Star-Demon but are our physical response to events that might sadden us or frighten us. Those are normal and natural reactions of beings to outer triggers that might be dangerous or where we suffer a loss. In fact, there is no dark demon lurking under your bed to make you feel sad or afraid.”

“And neither in my cupboard or under the settee.” The boy inclined his head wisely and looked up at his nanny.

“And the guardsmen of the Crystal Guard would chase them away if they dared to come here to the Crystal Palace, wouldn’t they? And so would all the guarding fighter robots do which guard us further here. The robots have no feelings and cannot be afraid, and would simply shoot an evil demon if it dared to come to the Crystal World!”

“So they would, yes. A robot does not argue or gets afraid, you are right, Atlan. It thinks all logically and cannot be influenced by emotions. But you see, even if in our everyday life there are no demons really, in the overall picture and plan of the universe and all that exists, the Dark Star Spirits have their rightful place. And do you know why?”

“Yes.” The young prince turned his wrist forcefully. “Because of harmony, and balance.”

Lesena ma Thyrenn snapped her fingers vigorously in agreement. “Exactly. You see, everything that exists and everyone who lives came from Thiath in the beginning. Like a rikal danemtin, an all-seeing bird, Thiath’s vision unfolded. The rikal danemtin looks simply dark blue all over at first, but when it spreads its tail and unfolds its wings, we see all the white spots with smaller red spots within them. They look like eyes, and like that, with and through the eyes of the beings Thiath let come to life by spilling its own essence, Thiath looked back at Itself and had someone and something to love and be there for. So the Highest One could experience Love fully and could know itself also from outside, and learn and understand and grow, which is what life is all about in the end.

And since everything and everyone actually is part of Thiath, those tiny parts of Thiath-like you and me, Atlan, or your father and your mother, but also even every Maahk-they are different from each other and separated from each other. But in all of us, the urge lives to come together once more, simply because we were all one and of one essence once, at the beginning. So we have that need for balance and harmony. The Maahks know it too, they call it the Patterns of existence. The whole of the universe and all of nature strives for balance and harmony. It takes a man and a woman, who become one, to sire a child, and the Maahks and the Taa and the Topside reptiles are just the same, no matter if our kind gives live birth and another kind lays eggs. So there needs to be balance and harmony between men and women, between the old and the young, the powerful ones and the ones who have less power, between light and dark, and life and death. This is also what the Sword tells us, the Sword of Fate. It has two sides, a light side and a dark side, a side of war and one of peace, truth, and illusion, and life and death.”

“Yes.” The boy solemnly bowed his head. “And with the edge between them as the third part, two become three, and so become One, the whole Sword Itself!”

“Exactly!” Lesena smiled at the clever pupil of Dagor. Atlan had gotten lessons in Dagor, the so-called art of All-fight, since he could understand what people were saying to him, beginning with instructions about how to breathe, and how to move in time and rhythm of breathing and balance.

“And so it is also with the Gods and the Spirits. If there is Light, and the Order the Gods impose upon the World, there also must be darkness and chaos to have chance, and with it change, which is the only constant in the universe. The Gods teach us about “as-it-should-be”, and so there must also be what the Dark Spirits make people think of, “as-it -should -not-be”. To know light can only be done if one knows darkness also, and one can only appreciate Love and Being together if one also has experienced Fear and loneliness. The Dark Spirits play a necessary part in Thiath’s plan for all that exists because they must outbalance the Gods and so ensure harmony.”

“And this, then, is this matter about order and chaos, that father spoke about!”

The nurse agreed. “Yes, your father told you about that, Atlan. You see, the gods impose order and harmony on the universe. But if they were all that existed, there would be nothing but order, and nothing could change anymore. And to grow and develop, and to learn, life needs to change. Life needs a certain amount of chaos, of order’s counterpoint, to be able to move and change and grow. To really unfold its Power Light needs darkness, and order needs chaos. That’s what the Dark Star Spirits are.”

Solemnly the young prince turned his wrist. But then he frowned.

“Lesena-why must we thank the Gods for their help when something goes right, but may not put the blame upon the Dark Spirits if something goes wrong?”

She raised a brow. Was this a question in principle, in general, or did it have a personal context?

“Well, it is a virtue and a personal asset if a person can be grateful, and see the blessings he or she receives. That person will then be open to further gifts of the Gods. To look forward, and see the good things and be thankful for them, makes a person much happier than another who would always look at what he or she doesn’t have, or at what he or she has missed. Then, we all have personally experienced the courage and confidence and the hope the Gods send into our hearts when we pray to them, isn’t it so? That the Gods help us if we open our hearts to them and ask them for their assistance and their advice simply is a fact. So if we receive their gifts we should thank them for them as readily, and be open to more. As to the Dark Star Spirits-what, exactly, are you talking about, Atlan thay?”

He blinked for a moment. This was a personal matter, obviously.

“You see, na Lhes’-two days ago in class-“ he paused. Lesena smiled encouragingly and waited.

“Regir called me a mean Mokoki.” The nurse’s lips quirked. Atlan’s voice held a lot of indignation and hurt pride.

“And, were you?” His red eyes widened, and his face became the icon of innocence. “What?”

“A mean Mokoki.” That animal was famous for its ability to imitate and show the faces of people it had beheld recently.

Interestingly, he blinked again and looked down, grimacing. 

“I suppose I was”, he murmured sourly. Looking up again, the young prince tried to defend himself.

“Regir went on about his older cousin, who is so righteous and always knows better, and he was so proud of the vohjo, of that oaf. And I got annoyed and imitated that cousin behind Regir’s back. And he saw the others laughing and turned and saw me and called me a mean Mokoki!”

“So what happened then?” 

“Mekhan Scotara, our teacher, came in just then and gave both of us a Warning. I suppose we deserved that, but then-“ He paused again.

“But then?” Lesena asked gently.

“Then I told her that I was all innocent because Mukthul, the Dark Spirit of quarrel, was to be blamed because he had made me make trouble. At that, I got a real Reprimand and had to do a whole sheet of Maths exercises more at home. I like Maths and the exercises were interesting, but I think it just wasn’t fair!”

The nurse smiled for a moment, but then she sighed and cocked her head. “Gods, Atlan thay. The one who wasn’t fair was you, right there, and you didn’t act responsibly as you should have. That Reprimand was deserved well, alas.”

“Oh.” The boy’s mouth turned down.

“See, Atlan thay. It might be true that Mukthul has whispered to you that you should feel annoyed, and start a quarrel, and you felt that annoyance in your heart. But it was your choice whether you listened to that feeling or not, and it was another choice of yours to act upon it. You felt like making fun of Regir and his cousin, and then you did so, not caring for his feelings. Those were your choices and your actions. Nobody forced you to do so, and Mukthul couldn’t either, could he? No matter if he whispered to you at the start. You are responsible for your actions. And if one acts then one should take on the responsibility for one’s deeds. You didn’t and blamed your choices and your actions on Mukthul. Don’t you think that you deserved that Reprimand now, looking back, and thinking on it?”

“Oh.” That sounded more thoughtful. Good for the boy that he realized his mistake.

“And then, you were right unfair there towards Regir. You know that he can’t talk back to you and really give back to you as he got because you are the Gos athor. You misused your higher rank there, and that’s unfair in the extreme. You should apologize to him as soon as you can.”

Clearly feeling guilty now Atlan drew up his shoulders, but then he smiled again.

“I apologized after class, already! Not because I realized that I wasn’t fair, then, but because Regir was really upset. We made peace and I promised to let him borrow my latest game, which I have brought to him today. We are friends fully again.”

“So you made up for your mistake. Good. See? No Mukthul whispering to you anymore.”

“No!” He laughed, all merry again. Lesena hugged him warmly and went on with her story.

“So let us go back to that place before time when Thiath had just brought the She’ Huan, the Gods of the Stars, and the Blessed Star Spirits, and the Dark Spirits to existence. The moment It had done so, it always had been so. They all rejoiced in their own way, and beheld each other-twelve Goddesses and Twelve Gods, their servants the Blessed Star Spirits, and the Dark Spirits who keep the balance and see to harmony, as much as their nature of chaos would look like opposing that.”

The boy grinned. “Actually that’s funny!”

Lesena laughed. “Actually, it is, you are right! Now, the goddesses and the gods, do you know them? There are Qinshora the Goddess of Love and Benevolence, and Merakon the God of Youth and Strength.”

“He is my Patron God!” Atlan chimed in, his red eyes aglow.

“So he is. You pray to him every morning and every night before you sleep, and ask his guidance. Then there is Zhymelesa, who protects those who walk in Dark Places. If you are sad and do not know what to do, you can ask her to light your way. Her companion is Tormana da Bargk-God of Storm and Power; Mathrenna is Mother to all that lives as the goddess of Abundance and Life. With her goes Daremmol, the god of merchants and clever dealing.”

“He is the cleverest and the most cunning one!” the young prince exclaimed, his eyes full of admiration. He liked the clever god of merchants and of conquering, and the tales told of him, how he won conflicts with cunning rather than violence.

Lesena laughed. “We know that you like the trickster very much, judging by the pranks you play sometimes, young rascal. Perhaps you should ask him to be a patron to you too!”

Atlan made a funny face but prudently did not say more now. He had been good today, but that had not been so on other days, and he rather would not remind his nanny of that right now.

“Sihayora protects our homes and keeps the Home Fire, and our halls lighted. Her mate Lokanthur is the God of Exploration, of Courage and Curiosity, and of the Going Out. Our explorers, astronomers, and pilots pray to him. Famathra is the Goddess of Death and of the Cycle of Life, and of Rebirth and Reawakening. She guards the souls of the dead until they are reborn again. This is why she is named “She who has power over Life”.”

The woman looked at her young charge, and softly asked:” Do you fear her? Her statue in the Grotto of the She’huan looks rather daunting, I think.”

The boy made a doubtful face and then raised his chin in denial. “No, I don’t fear her”, he answered firmly. "I believe that she is awe-inspiring. That is what mother calls her. But she keeps and brings back the people who had to go, even if they do not remember who they were before. Father says that we could not concentrate upon our life as we have it now if we could remember who we had been before. This is why we forget.”

Smiling Lesena turned her wrist. “That’s true”, she said. “And I think that any former life of mine could not have been better than it is now, with you, Atlan thay, and your family.”

At that, he suddenly smiled shyly and embraced his nanny impulsively.

“I love you, na Lhes’”, he whispered into her ear and gave her a wet kiss upon the cheek. Lesena felt touched. Hugging the boy closely she whispered back:” So I love you, Atlan thay.”

He laughed, all merry, and excitedly and with eyes sparkling asked that she go on telling her story.

“Well, Famathra is accompanied by Katsahinor, the God of War, the Great Warrior. To him, I bet, you will pray a lot when you are older. I believe that you will be a great fighter just as your father is.”

“Yes.” The young Gos athor inclined his head, not a shadow of doubt in his voice. The Gonozal family could pride itself on many scientists and artists as its scions, but its warriors and excellent strategists had the greatest honour now in this war. The young prince had many forebears and relatives he could learn from exclusively.

“Then there is Asahina, the Goddess of Fate, mistress of the asa’ nan sahin, of the way going straight forward. Garthanol, the God of clever and ingenious plans and of logic, is her husband. Every strategist invokes him to guide her or his thoughts.”

“I like him well”, the boy said firmly. “He’s a no-nonsense person and makes everything clear!”

“Atlan, you are aware that the Gods are no persons like you and me, right?” Lesena laughed, and he simply turned his wrist, but replied with a frown, looking up at his nanny:

“But they are so like to true persons in the way we speak of them and pray to them. Is that wrong?”

“No, it isn’t wrong. But you know-the Gods are aspects of Thiath turned into individual emanations. They have taken on the guise of persons very much like an Arko or an Arka, to let us approach them and understand them better, and so we can pray to them easily and open our hearts, which is the precondition of getting their help and advice in truth. But you see, our spiritual teachers say that really the appearance and the whole personality of a goddess or a god are only masks those great Spirits put on for our sake. In truth, they are but small masks of Thiath itself which It has created to have us interact with It, and the same goes even for you and me, only we are masks of Thiath so small one could not see us, looking at us from above as if we looked down from a starship just leaving a planet.”

The boy’s mien grew doubtful. “Lesena, that sounds always so great when I hear it. But I don’t feel so great or so everything-and all like -Thiath would feel. How is that all true?”

“Hm.” She looked at his grave and questioning face, and felt how love warmed her heart in truth for this earnest and honourable boy, searching and questioning the world even at an age this young.

“Thiath cannot be understood by people like us with our mind. For that, we are too small. But if you look into your heart, Atlan thay, and think of love and light, and the people you love, you will find the Highest One right there at the center of yourself, in your heart and soul. If you need help to understand that, you can pray to Skorgytha, the Veiled One, Goddess of Mystery, and Going Inward. She is the personal patron goddess of the Arkanta, the High Priestess of Hocatarr, and of all of our people. Do you know whom she is the mate to?”

“Yes!” Atlan’s face was all merry and aglow again. “Ipharsyn, the God of Light! He is uncle Cunor’s patron God!”

Agreeing Lesena snapped her fingers. “Thosafhera is the Goddess of Harmony and Balance, and so she is one of the most important ones of the She’huan. Ask her to teach you, and you will always know your way and go right.”

“Her husband is very different from her!” the young prince grinned. 

“Yes, so he is. Daymelion is our God of Joy and merriment. But you see-he is exactly the right one to balance out Thosafera’s serenity and earnestness, and so he is the best possible partner for her! She teaches us about eternal values, while he is the patron of short-lived things that nevertheless have their most important place in our lives! Just think how it would be if we couldn’t make merry and sometimes forget about heavy duties when we can afford it!”

The young Gos athor’s face was profoundly serious. “Lesena, you know what uncle Cunor said to me, that I must never forget who and what I am, and that I cannot afford to forget a single moment about my duties and the responsibility I bear for the Empire, and all our peoples, and that I must answer to him for that as long as he lives, and after that, I must answer to the people when I am the Tai Moas.”

The nurse sighed. “Yes, you are of course right, Atlan. Your uncle our Imperator, and you, young as you are, are exempted from being able to forget and abandon yourselves just to joy. But you can be merry and have joy nevertheless, can’t you?”

At that, his grave mien lightened, and he grinned again. “Yes, I can!”

“See? You simply must be honest and diligent at your work and persevere, which is what Laktarma, the Goddess of Artisans, can teach you. Pray to her, and working properly and diligently will be easy for you.”

“I did, and I was all good today, wasn’t I?”

“You were.” Lesena stroked her charge’s head gently. “And her husband Aloron, the God of the Healers, looks after you just as carefully.”

Hugging the young prince warmly to her, she went on:” Your uncle Upoc prays to Zelennyia a lot. She is the Goddess of Dance and Beauty, the patron of the arts and of all artists. Her mate Rantmethron, the Father of the worlds, is the God of the natural Sciences and our guide in strange and dangerous places.”

“I’d like to go on an explorer ship and find new suns and new worlds. Places no Arko has ever been before”, he murmured dreamily, yawning once. Lesena smiled a bit wickedly. Atlan was getting tired at long last, good.

“You know that as the Gos athor, and later our Tai Moas, you cannot do that yourself. You must send out our explorer fleets, but you must stay safe as much as you can for the sake of all our peoples.”

“Just one small unknown world with a new kind of people who are friendly and new animals and plants we do not know”, he said wistfully, knowing that he couldn’t go.

The nurse was stroking his head gently. “You must become the best Tai Moas we ever had, fight the Maahks, and overcome them. You must be brave and diligent and just.”

“Yes.” The boy was all grave again, and fully attentive.

“Then I must pray to Zhymathra, the Goddess of Justice, and to her husband Zelathrol, the God of Hope and Mercy. And I must ask Rathrona, the Goddess of Speech, for her help, so that I am able to convince others and get good at psychology. Father says she’s most important for me.”

Laughing, Lesena hugged the young Crystal Prince and agreed, snapping her fingers.

“Most important for you at the moment, I think, besides Merakon your patron god is Faehrlathor, the God of Learning and of Wisdom. You are not the Tai Moas yet, Atlan thay, and you are not old enough to board a ship and fly away to war or to find new worlds. For now, you must be good and study hard and do your exercises, and obey your teachers and instructors.”

“And mother and father and uncle Cunor and grandmother Seliya and you”, he added mischievously, wide awake again, alas, and sitting up decisively.

“Please, Lesena, tell me about the Sword now! And how everything came to be!”

“Well.” The nurse cleared her throat and went on. "Gath uranase, far, far away in the past, before time existed, there was Thiath and there were the Gods and the Spirits, the shaykari huhany khantartoni, the Blessed Spirits who serve the Gods, and the Yagsholi zaraki, the Dark Spirits of chaos. They looked at each other and rejoiced in their existence. But the Gods and the Spirits are the children of Thiath and so they are like him. Thiath is Love Itself and wanted to love, and especially love others, which is the very fulfillment of Love and its very essence. The Gods in their turn as emanations and aspects of Thiath were made to love and to protect and to guide and to teach, but there was no-one but them and the Spirits and Thiath Itself, and those did not need guidance or protection. 

So the Gods asked Thiath to bring forth the universe, and Life, and all the beings who would live there and evolve, beings the Gods could love and protect and guide and teach. And even the Dark Spirits asked for the same because their very reason for existence was to bring about change, which is what Life needs to be able to develop and grow at all.  
So Thiath invented time, within which movement and change can happen, and he asked Asahina, the Goddess of Fate, to take her Sword and throw it.

So she did, and in the very beginning, just as time came into existence, Asahina the Goddess of Fate threw out her Sword, the kath’ shov’ssa, the Sword Flung Out, and it flew and turned tip over hilt away on the asa’ nan sahin, the straight path of destiny, and does so ever since, cutting out the path of life for every woman and every man, and we must follow it on our way.

Time began at that moment, and the universes woke to follow the Path of the Sword and spread out, our universe and many others, all of them full of Suns and worlds that came from them, galaxies beginning to spread out and grow and light up, full of Life and beings that evolved, animals and plants and half-intelligent peoples and intelligent ones like the Morannii and the Dron and the Taa and us, even the Thaaffs and the Maahks. Like the rikal danemtin when it spread its wings, all that exists now came to Life, and through the eyes of Its creatures, Thiath looks upon the worlds and Itself and can experience our feelings with us and through us and can learn, and grow, together with us and know Itself, looking through our eyes. The tail of the bird spread out guides its flight, and so the Gods protect us and guide us and teach us, and they love us, their charges, as I love you and protect you, Atlan thay.  
And now it is time you went to bed.”

“Aww, Lesena! I want to hear more, all about Arbaraith and the Heroes!” But the young prince was yawning as he said that, and his silvery-white hair fell into his face as his head sank a little to rest upon his nanny’s breast.

“Tomorrow night, I promise, I shall tell you all about Arbaraith, the World of Singing Crystals, our ancient Home, and all about the Twelve Heroes. But now you’ll have your shower and dress in your bed-suit, and I will comb your hair and sing to you, shall I?”

His face lighted up, and he scrambled off to obey her. He was a bit old to be sung to and should comb his hair himself, but today he was due some more caressing since he had done so well with making up to Regir da Ariga all on his own.

Showering and brushing his teeth and dressing for bed went swiftly enough, and then the boy snuggled up to his nurse and let her comb his hair gently, while she sang one of the songs he loved best:

“Comb your hair, comb your hair tonight, sleep, and when you wake to light, you will live forever!”

When she tucked him into his bed, he opened his eyes once more and asked:” Will I truly live forever, Lesena?”

Smiling she gave him a light kiss on the brow and answered: ”Everyone lives forever through many lives and learns and grows till we all return to Thiath once more and become one with It again, now full of knowledge and experience and wisdom. But I bet that even in this existence now, you will live a very long and wonderful and exciting life, and will have the most interesting experiences and will know many worlds and peoples!”

At that, Atlan da Gonozal smiled happily and dreamily and went to sleep for good.


End file.
